Packing spacer



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 E. P. SHERMAN PACKING SPACER Filed April 15,v 1936 Juy25, 1939.

I INVENTOR.

n BY [2409 FIS/fwz( v 61,16/ ATTORNEY.

July 25, 1939.

E. P. SHERMAN PACKING SPACER Filed April l5, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENT OR.

ATTORNEY`.

Patented July 25, 1939 UNITED STATES PTENT @ETFQE PACKING SPACERApplication April 15, 1936, Serial No. 74,572

4 Claims.

This invention relates to a unitary article for spacing, holding andprotecting merchandise within a larger container. As illustrations ofthe purposes for which it is intended to be used, when such articles asradio cabinets, refrigerators, filing cabinets, book cases, and similargoods are packed for shipment it is necessary and customary to useblocks, strips, pads and so on Within the shipping container in order tospace the sides of the packed article from contact with the container,to hold the contained article -against shifting, and in order also toprevent irregularities and protuberances, such as handles, beads and thelike from bearing upon the inside Walls of the container.

Ordinarily a number of these spacing blocks, strips and the like areused, disposed at top and bottom only, and specially formed andpositioned as may be required by the characteristics of the goods to betransported. Oftentimes as many as eight or a dozen such spacingelements will be used in each end of the outside container, and thesemust all be placed by hand and fastened in their proper positions, as bygluing or sometimes by nailing.

If in packing or during shipment some of the blocks or strips come loosedamage to the merchandise ensues, either through movement of the packedarticle within its container or by chafing of the spacing elementsagainst the article. All or most of the blocks at one end, and sometimesat both ends, have to be removed to unpack, which is a time consumingoperation and usually entails the destruction or loss of the blocking orpadding.

In many instances the article has to be packed and unpacked more thanonce between the factory and the ultimate consumer. For example, radiocabinets are often built on contract by a furniture maker and sent tothe radio plant to have the electrical parts fitted in. These cabinets,particularly in the larger sizes, `are first boxed at the furniturefactory, then unboxed at the radio manufacturing plant, reboxed forshipment to the dealer, taken out by him for display, and again boxedfor delivery to the customers home. Since the external shape of thecabinet is never changed from the time it leaves the furniture factory,the same box can thus be used several times, and the work of blockingand padding the cabinet within the container has to be repeated eachtime with the possibility at each unpacking of loss or destruction ofsome or all of the holding and spacing material.

55 My invention aims to avoid all such difculties by providing a unitaryelement, in the nature of a cap preformed to proper size, not needingany closing, fastening or interiitting of parts, such that asingle oneat each end of a packed article of merchandise Will serve all thepurposes for which a multiplicity of blocks, spacer strips, pads, and soon, are at present required. With my invention, the packing operationrequires only applying a single one of my unitary spacers on each end ofthe article to be packed, 10;;

and fastening the article, with its ends so protected, in the shippingbox or carton. It will be observed that although the preferred materialfor making my spacers is corrugated fiber board, the spacers may be usedequally Well within any 15 sort of outer container, Whether of iiberboard, Wood, metal or composite, and Whether a completely walled box ora crate. Various embodiments of the principle of my invention are i1-lustrated, some of them including, also by Way 20 of illustration,specic modifications for particulai` types of merchandise.

Within the limits of the invention, the amount and'disposition ofmaterial is subject to considerable variation.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, said invention,then, consists of the means hereinafter fully described and particularlypointed out in the claims.

The annexed drawings and the following description set forth in detailcertain structures embodying the invention, such disclosed meansconstituting, however, but one of various structural forms in which theprinciple of the invention may be used.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a spacer which is partly skeletonizedand which is designed to provide a substantially uniform amount ofspacing on all sides, with very little protection at the ends of thearticle;

Fig. 2 is a perspective of an other form of spacer affording padding andspacing at the corners and at the right and left edges, but intended forarticles which do not need much support in the middle of the end area.Here, however, the spacer completely covers the end of the article;

Fig. 3 is a section on the plane 3 3, Fig. 1, looking in the directionof the arrows;

Fig. 4 is a section on the plane 4 4, Fig. 2, look- 50 ing in thedirection of the arrows;

Fig. 5 is a section on the plane 5-5, Fig. 2, looking in the directionof the arrows.

It will be appreciated that all the forms of spacers shown illustratethe lower spacer in which 'broken bottom 25.

the bottom of the packed article is to be set. The article packed andthe external container, being no parts of the invention, are not shownin any of the gures.

A spacer similar to that on the bottom may be used, inverted, on thetop, or the top spacer and bottom spacer may be of different build ifthe diierence in shape of bottom and top of the article packed makessuch difference needful. The height of the side walls may be varied asrequired.

Referring now particularly to Fig. l, the spacer is comprised of aplurality of side walls I, 2, 3 and 4 and bottom members 5 and 6. Theside walls are built up of one or more plies (two in the illustration)of corrugated board, forming a complete collar '1, which, in the presentillustration, comprises an inner ply 8 and an intermediate ply 9. Thiscollar is set into two open topped and open sided tray elements Il andI2 respectively, the bottom members 5 and 6 being parts of therespective tray elements il and l2.

In this illustration the side walls I, 2, 3 and 4 are all of the sameeffective spacing thickness because this spacer is designed for anarticle which has no overhanging parts extending further on one sidethan on another. Here the bottom protection is slight, being affordedonly by one thickness of board, 5, 6, and there is a gap between theboards 5 and 6, since the spacer is made for an article in which nothingbeyond skeletonized protection is required.

All the various contiguous faces of material in the entire structure arefastened together preferably by covering all interfacial areas withadheslve and pressing the parts together sufficiently to secure firmbinding and a solid structure.

The modification shown in Fig. 2, being for an article in which greaterspacing is required and in which the right and left edges and theircorners call for more protection than the middle portion, completebottom coverage as well as side spacing. The outer thickness or shell ofthe spacer may be in the form of an outside tray 2D having walls 2l, 22,23 and 211 and an un- Within the tray 2Q the wall thickness is built upat both sides, as shown at 26 and 21, by a plurality of plies ofmaterial which thus give a spacing and cushioning effect at the front,the rear, the bottom and the sides, but the intermediate front, rear andbottom portions of the packed article either do not need so muchcushioning or may slightly protrude, are sufciently protected by alesser thickness. It will of course be appreciated that the tray 20might be made of any number of plies required, still economizing byomission of unnecessary material in the intermediate parts of the spaceras shown in the drawings.

As previously mentioned, the spacers illustrated are shown in positionfor use on the bottom of a packed article, and the descriptionheretofore has been from that point of view. The spacers are equallyapplicable to the top by inversion, in which instance the bottom of theprotector itself would of course become the top. Again, the protectorsmight be used upon the ends of a packed article of appropriate shape.

Other modes of applying the principle of my invention may be employedinstead of the one explained, change being made as regards the structureherein disclosed, provided the means stated by any oi the followingclaims or the equivalent of such stated means be employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention:

1. A packing protection cap of corrugated brous board, said capconsisting of a rectangular structure including laminated reinforcingprotection members secured thereto to form unitary ends with trihedralcorners and solid edges, and a connection of less thickness between saidends.

2. A protecting and spacing cap of corrugated board consisting of atleast two trihedral portions of a plurality of thicknesses solidlyjoined along an edge and at its corners, and panels of less thicknessconnecting said portions.

3. A packing protection cap of corrugated iibious board, said capconsisting of a rectangular tray and laminated reinforcing protectionmembers of greater thickness than said tray set therein, saidlaminations being secured into unitary ends and trihedral cornerssecured throughout their thickness along their junction edges.

4. A protecting and spacing cap of corrugated board consisting of arectangular tray of at least one thickness of such board, and laminatedtrihedral protection inserts in the tray ends, said inserts being joinedalong the entire thickness of their angular edges, said cap beingadapted to t upon edges of an article which is to be packed in an outercontainer,

ELROY P. SHERMAN.

